Before we resume the debate on this motion I should like to read out a list of speakers for this evening. I was handed this list by the Government Chief Whip and the Whip of the Fianna Fáil Party. Less there be any misunderstanding I must say that I am not establishing a precedent by accepting this list and making it a rule of the House. I can see a situation arising where it might be necessary for me to depart from it. I want to make that clear. The following is the time table: 7 p.m. to 7.10 p.m., Deputy Wyse; 7.10 p.m. to 7.16 p.m., Deputy Eileen Desmond; 7.16 p.m. to 7.24 p.m., Deputy Allen; 7.24 p.m. to 7.32 p.m., Deputy O'Sullivan; 7.32 p.m. to 7.40 p.m., Deputy Myra Barry; 7.40 p.m. to 7.55 p.m., Deputy Wallace; 7.55 p.m. to 8.10 p.m., Deputy Gene Fitzgerald; 8.10 p.m. to 8.15 p.m., Deputy Coveney; 8.15 p.m. to 8.30 p.m., Deputy Michael Ahern.
Private Members' Business. - Verolme Cork Dockyard: Motion (Resumed).
Last night the Minister read a lengthy speech. I would like to question him on a number of points raised in that speech but, unfortunately, time is not on my side. I hope the Minister did not mislead the House when he said last night that his Department had received a serious expression of interest in Verolme Cork Dockyard from a foreign concern. The extraordinary thing about the announcement is that it was made only after Fianna Fáil Members tabled the motion now before the House.
That is not so. In fact, I referred to it in the House before. It was not the first time I referred to it.
The Minister will have an opportunity to reply. I expressed the hope that the Minister was not misleading the House on it because I have other information about this matter. It is obvious that little or no effort was made by the Government to prevent the closure of Verolme Cork Dockyard. To prove that point I should like to quote from an article in The Cork Examiner of Tuesday last, 27 November, concerning a press conference given by the Minister for Finance at Enniskean. The article stated:
On the subject of Verolme Cork Dockyard, the Minister was asked if he would comment on recent speculation that the Government would be prepared to participate in a scaled down operation at the yard with concentration on repair work.
The Minister's response was:
I have seen no proposals for any such operation.
That is proof beyond all doubt that the fight to save the dockyard received little or no priority by the Minister or the Government and that the case failed to reach Cabinet level for discussion. I must assume that the Minister for Finance, and his Department, are at all times involved in major matters concerning finance to the other Departments. The statement by the Minister for Finance on Monday proves beyond doubt that the case for the dockyard had not been discussed at Cabinet level. If that is not true perhaps the Minister will tell us. The statement by the Minister for Finance proved beyond doubt to the workers at the dockyard that the Government have little or no interest in their case.
Last night I asked the Minister to detail the total value placed on the dockyard. Will the Minister tell the House the amount of money being paid by the Government, or by the management of the dockyard, in the form of redundancy payments. I am not referring to the statutory redundancy payments. There are conflicting views about this. We have heard it from management that they are the people who are paying this redundancy money. I should like to know what arrangements are to be made for the repair of our naval vessels. It must be a worry if such repairs are to be done outside the country bearing in mind the difference in exchange rates. We must also bear in mind that such repairs must always be carried out speedily.
Each page of the Minister's speech was confusing. I was somewhat amused to hear the Minister placing so much emphasis on the development of the lower harbour in Cork when all Cork Deputies had spent years pleading with the Government to invest at least £1 million for the continuation of the work there. Last night the Minister gave the impression that he was the lifesaver for that area of Cork when it was Cork Deputies who fought hard to ensure the completion of that project. The Minister, or the Government, cannot claim any credit for that and I defy any member of the Government to say otherwise.
The Minister should comment on the statement by the Minister for Finance in Cork on Monday. Last night I was told, by way of interruption by the Minister of State, that I was wrong when I referred to the fact that the number of options submitted to the Government had not been replied to. It is obvious that I was correct when the person who holds the Government's purse strings was not aware of the case being made to save the dockyards.
Not surprisingly this is an issue in which all Cork Members are keenly interested and they have expressed their interest by their presence in the Chamber. It is a matter of vital concern to us all. The tragedy of the debate surrounding this issue is that there is an effort being made to score political points. In my experience in public life over the last 20 years I have always found that Verolme Cork Dockyard was a political football. There was a tendency for one party to suggest to the electorate that the continuation of the yard depended on their staying in Government. It is not surprising that the crunch has come because it is still a political football.
There is no need for backbench Deputies who support the Government to go over that ground again. The Minister answered Fianna Fáil's motion last evening. He pointed out forcefully the weaknesses in the Fianna Fáil argument, listing the failure of Fianna Fáil when in Government to adopt the line which they suggest this Government should adopt. Among his counter-arguments he mentioned the bulk carrier completed in the summer of 1983 for which the commercial price quoted was £14.2 million, but the construction cost was in excess of £30 million. He also said that it cost £21,000 in Government subsidies each year for every man employed in the dockyard. The opposition when in Government took the same attitude. Even those who are very keenly and deeply involved realise there are insurmountable problems here. It is a pity that this issue is constantly thrown around as a political football.
The sense of the argument we will be supporting this evening and of which we must not lose sight is the Minister's amendment which calls on the Government to do their utmost to ensure that a purchaser for the yard is found who will provide significant continuing employment. Verolme is very dear to the hearts of every Cork Deputy. We are all keenly interested in the continuation of employment. The men employed in this dockyard, many of whom are close friends of the Deputies who represent them do not yet feel the strain of unemployment because they have got their redundancy payments, most of them are enjoying PAYE and they have not yet experienced a drop in their standard of living. With the passage of another year this will spread a great deal more gloom over our constituency. We have had a lot of gloom in Cork. There have been closures of very large firms and almost all the employers in the Cork Harbour area have vanished. There is an air of hopelessness there.
This amendment will ensure that every effort is made and that money is spent to provide adequate alternative employment for these men who have no job prospects for the future. We must change the situation. We can talk about who is to blame but I say nobody is to blame. Each Government took the same decision because they had no option but to do so. Again I want the Government to do all in their power to provide employment on a large scale in the Cork area where it is so badly needed.
Deputy Bernard Allen, and he has until 7.24 p.m.
I would like to express sympathy with the workers who lost and are to lose their jobs in Verolme Cork Dockyard. They have been the victims of the world recession and a combination of bad decisions and labour management problems in the yard. However, and more seriously, they have been the victims in recent times of gross hyprocisy and base political opportunism on the part of the Opposition. We can toss words from side to side in this House, but that does nothing for the workers in Cork.
I welcome the Minister's positive statement that a third party is interested in acquiring the Cork dockyard as a ship repair yard initially. I wish the best of luck to the discussions which will take place over the coming weeks and months. I am aware of another party who is interested in speaking to the receiver about the future of the dockyard and I hope these discussions will also take place shortly.
Deputy Wyse said nothing was done in recent times by the Government and representatives of the Government, but I would like to remind him that earlier this year Government Deputies had a day long meeting with the workers, the unions and the management of Cork Verolme Dockyard to eliminate some of the problems. We thought some progress had been made.
They are all eliminated now.
The closure of the dockyard and the misfortune of the workforce have been used in a cold blooded fashion by the Opposition for base political advantage and nothing else. What we heard from the Opposition last night did not contain one concrete suggestion as to how the yard could survive. All we heard were emotive statements, such as, "a national scandal", and such empty phrases do the yard and its workforce no good whatever. These statements show the insincerity of the Opposition particularly in the light of the disclosures made by the Minister in this House last night and I think they should be repeated here tonight.
Deputy Lyons demanded to know why the Government would not acquire the remaining 52 per cent interest in the yard implying that this purchase would secure the future of the yard and that Fianna Fáil would buy the remaining interest if they were in power. This is base hypocrisy.
Talk facts.
This is base hyprocisy in the light of the evidence produced by the Minister that the Dutch offered their majority shareholding to the Fianna Fáil Government in 1979 and that some Government refused to take up the option.
Deputy Lyons tried to give the impression that the building of further naval patrol vessels in the yard would ensure its survival forever more when the reality is that when Fianna Fáil were in Government, the then Minister for Foreign Affairs wrote to the then Taoiseach on 6 May 1982 advocating that that Fianna Fáil Government proceeded with only one of the two proposed patrol vessels because of the likely additional cost to the Exchequer. The same Government decided to contact the European Commission to seek a reduction in the number of patrol vessels and aircraft necessary to provide adequate control and the surveillance necessary for fishery protection purposes. This information, in the light of recent utterances from Fianna Fáil members, again shows up the hypocrisy of their approach to the problems in Verolme.
We all also had the red herring of our neutrality——
That is not a red herring.
We were told that Irish naval vessels would have to go to British yards for maintenance, ignoring the fact that we have a naval maintenance yard in Cork harbour which carries out a big percentage of necessary repairs. However, we must be positive and look beyond the closure of the yard next Friday, tragic as that is, to a rebirth of the operation there. All available options must be investigated so that the very specialised skills in the Cork area, as ship design, ship building and ship repair skills are utilised in the future. Of course we must be realistic and agree that the immediate future of the yard is in ship repairing and, possibly, in heavy engineering.
I had discussions recently with the Russian Trade Consul and he informed me that there is a future for ship repairing in Cork provided that the operation is efficient and economic. If the yard operates efficiently with a good labour management relationship, it can also take advantage of any development in the area of offshore oil exploration and oil field development. Earlier this year I visited Norway in connection with a project which was being proposed for Verolme Cork dockyard and I am disappointed that this project has been turned down by the Government. Taking into account circumstances of recent times, I was not surprised by the announcement last night. Having been in the south of Norway and having seen the manner in which the Norwegian Government and people have taken advantage of the oil finds off their coast I am convinced that, with proper management, planning and development of our technological skills, we could make major advances industrially in the event of even reasonable oil finds off the south coast. Verolme dockyard can score heavily in this area in years to come, especially in the area of offshore supply and construction of offshore equipment, modules and platforms. We must not make the mistake that Britain made in the area of offshore development. The Minister for Energy should have closer liaison with the Norwegian companies involved in offshore development.
In the years to come we may make the tragic mistake of allowing multinationals to develop our oil fields and exploit our riches while, at the same time, underutilising Irish managerial and technical skills. The closure of Verolme was described last night by the Opposition as a national scandal. It would have been a greater national scandal to allow further public moneys to be invested in Verolme without looking closely at the serious illness which was affecting the health of the yard. I hope that the tragic events of next Friday will result in a new Verolme rising Phoenix-like from the ashes. I will be watching developments closely over the next few months and I hope that the proud skills and experience of the workforce in Cork will be utilised once again. We must ignore speeches from the Opposition which dealt mainly with politics and we must plan for Verolme to open again. There are exciting opportunities for an efficient, competitive dockyard which will utilise all the skills available in the Cork region.
I support the Minister's amendment but in doing so I should like him to consider suggestions which could contribute in some way towards the reopening and restructuring of Verolme Cork dockyard.
When it became known that Verolme was facing closure, I approached the Minister for Energy at the request of unions and management to see if he and the Taoiseach would be prepared to meet management and unions at Verolme. I received a positive reply to my request and this meeting should take place before any further action is taken regarding Verolme. The management and workforce, as represented by union officials, can contribute something very definite in this area. A number of suggestions have already been put forward which are worthy of consideration.
I do not think the receiver should be called in until such time as this meeting takes place. Every effort must be made by the same agencies to ensure that Verolme Cork dockyard remains viable. We have a corps of engineers and engineering skills which are second to none. Their equipment is of first-class quality although to bring the yard up to date would cost a further £20 million. This can be deferred until such time as new business is generated. Nothing should be done which will affect the future viability of the yard. I hope this House will not take a decision which will affect the continued operation of Verolme.
A serious effort must be made to ensure that a ship repairing business is carried on although it will not achieve everything that I would like to see at Rushbrooke. The future lies in shipbuilding and if we are serious about reducing the numbers of unemployed, we must look at this area. At present there is a surplus of ships throughout the world but if we adopt the attitude that things are going to get worse we will be defeated before we start. No other industry here can create jobs or has potential to create jobs as quickly as the shipbuilding industry. If even one order came on stream it would mean work for 700 people in a matter of months. We cannot afford to ignore this.
The Minister should consider handing over to the National Enterprise Agency which is to be incorporated into the National Development Corporation and let them manage the yard and keep it up to date on a care and maintenance level until such time as we are able to create ship repairing and off shore engineering services.
A new financial structure should be formed for the company. It may be possible to acquire the shares which are now in the ownership of RSV. The financial institutions should also take an interest. This is not without precedent, the Bank of Ireland took a share in Fieldcrest, Kilkenny, although that is not a very good precedent.
A sum of £8 million is to be paid out in redundancy at Verolme. On Tyneside, workers were faced with a similar situation and invested their redundancy payments in the company. Last year this company had a turnover of £2 million. Participation by the workers should be encouraged and to do that we should give them the same incentives as venture capital receives and they should get the £25,000 tax incentive. I realise that it would be necessary to amend existing legislation to permit this but it could and should be done. I do not dispute the case the Minister made that the Exchequer should get a return for its investment. It would not be right to go on indefinitely putting money into a project that would not be successful.
I have sufficient faith in the skills of the people to say that at this stage we should grasp the opportunity and allow the yard to continue in existence and to function. As I suggested already, this would be best done by getting the National Enterprise Agency to do this rather than by involving Fóir Teoranta and a receiver. It is absolutely essential that a care and maintenance operation be carried out in the dockyard immediately. There is the risk of depreciation of equipment that is exposed to the weather, especially in a seaside area where Verolme is situated. The plant could become run down in a very short time. By giving responsibility to the agency they could ensure that the equipment does not deteriorate.
Despite the difficulties in the shipbuilding world I do not accept that we should give up the thought of restoring the strategically important skill of shipbuilding. There will be a need for such skill. Last night there was mention of Irish Shipping. I regret to say that that company were not very loyal to Verolme dockyard. While I sympathise with the workforce of Irish Shipping, nevertheless I think they could have put more business in the way of Verolme. There was a certain lack of loyalty in that respect.
There is an urgent need to update our fishing fleet. As a maritime nation we should develop the fleet. There is also the possibility that in the near future a replacement will have to be found for Irish Shipping. I should like to think Verolme will be there should it be called upon in an emergency. It is generally accepted that while we have the tonnage of shipping we do not have the proper kind of shipping. We have coastal ships and passenger ships but we have not in sufficient numbers the kind of ships used for bulk cargo. There may be an urgent need for such ships in the not too distant future. Should an emergency arise Verolme would be well placed to respond.
It is with a tinge of sadness and regret that I speak tonight about Verlome dockyard, particularly when the gates of the yard are about to be shut. The dockyard has been part and parcel of the town of Cobh for many years. It has made a unique contribution to Cobh not only economically but also socially and from the point of view of the community. Its closure will mark the end of an era but I am hopeful from the Minister's speech last night, which I welcome wholeheartedly, that what we are about to embark on will mean a new era for the Cork dockyard. We know that no longer can we afford to run factories and companies that are losing money wholesale. The people who are losing are the taxpayers. In an effort to rectify this situation the company has to close for a short while but every effort must be made to ensure that it will open soon again.
Verolme dockyard is situated in my constituency of East Cork. I regard the yard as a tremendous asset not only for the people of Cork but for the nation as a whole. That is something we lose sight of very often. It would be a crime if that yard were to lie idle but I do not believe that will happen. We need that resource to create the jobs that are badly needed. It is of vital importance that the dockyard be kept going on a maintenance basis in the coming weeks so that when a new customer takes it over it can be ready to go into full operation immediately.
I should like to caution the Minister regarding the security of the dockyard in the interim. Verolme dockyard is on an exposed site, with water on one side and the road on the other side. I am expressing the views of the people of Cobh when I say that the most strict security must be maintained there in the coming weeks. It is of vital importance that machinery and fittings are not removed.
Added to the asset of the shipyard, in the Cobh area and in the Cork area generally we have a very valuable asset that has been built up over the years. I refer to the skills of the workforce at Verolme dockyard. Excellent training has been given to apprentices but that asset is lying idle at the moment. In acquiring an interest in Verolme dockyard there is the asset of the dockyard itself and, secondly, a very skilled and talented workforce.
Despite the gloomy picture of the shipping industry worldwide, the Minister should leave no stone unturned to ensure that Verolme dockyard will be opened very soon again. I know he will do all he can. He can be assured that Cork Deputies will not get off his back until the dockyard is reopened and the white smoke is coming out of the chimneys again.
On the second page next to the deaths column The Cork Examiner of today's date under the heading “Verolme, Cork, Dockyard Limited” states:
The final payment of all outstanding money to employees will be made on Wednesday, November 28.
Speakers on the opposite side, in particular Deputy Allen, said we were playing politics but tonight we have seen very clearly the hypocrisy of Members opposite. This year on three or four occasions we listened to rhetoric from the other side of the House about what has been happening in Cork. We put down motions regarding the closure of Fords and Dunlops and we heard the same expressions of concern and sadness from Members opposite. The hypocrisy is on the other side and the people of Cork well know that. Government Deputies are now being seen for what they are. I give them credit for doing a good job in public relations but that is the only area where this Government have done any kind of good job. However, their actions are catching up with them.
The handlers are not as effective as they used to be.
During the previous debates we were assured that everything possible was done to prevent closures in the Cork region. The same statements of concern were expressed. In this instance the Government could have made a contribution and they can still do something——
We will do something.
——to avoid the closure of the dockyard. The real test will be seen at 8.30 tonight when the sincerity of the people on the other side of the House will be tested.
I compliment Deputy O'Sullivan for admitting that this was unnecessary and shortsighted, just like the case of Irish Shipping when the Government ran to take a decision as quickly as they could. We have had Ministers and Government backbenchers calling on the people to have confidence in themselves. I ask Deputies over there what will they say to the people in this dockyard and to their families? Will they ask them to have confidence in themselves and in their future when the Deputies have no confidence in them, as they are showing by this decision?
The dockyard is being closed because of Government policy which does not change no matter how it affects people. That is why we have the notice I have just read. People will not be bluffed by this Government's insincerity. Cork and its special problems have been highlighted more than any other region but the Government do nothing about it and try to exonerate themselves. When the Government had an opportunity to do something they did nothing. We had all the optimism about Dunlops and Fords but what has come of it? Nothing has been done to replace those two important industries and the employment they gave. We have been told that somebody from outside will come in and that the dockyard will have a bright future. We have been told that too many times before.
The Government should show some sincerity. The State owns 48 per cent of the shares. They should buy the remaining 52. Of course that is not favoured by the other side. In the dockyard we have the people and the management to run the business, admittedly on a smaller scale. A year or two ago it was realised that the dockyard could not be continued in its present from with its high employment content, that rationalisation was necessary. This was agreed by management, unions and workers and the workforce was reduced. Everybody then believed there was a future. I am convinced that with a show of sincerity from the Government there is a future for the dockyard with a reduced workforce. Carrigaline Potteries is a great example. It was closed down but the workers got going with the assistance and advice of Deputies and others. The business is thriving today.
Have we any confidence in the skills of our workforce? The Government's insincerity can be seen here. Cork has an unemployment rate above the national average. Not alone can the Government retain the yard but they can give confidence to the workers. Whenever we on this side express concern we are accused of talking gloom and doom and people do not want to hear it. We are accused of being political. The Government know that the problems of Cork are chronic. Deputies opposite should join us and show sincere concern. We are only carrying out our duty to our people. That is why we were elected. I am sorry we are not on that side of the House now because if we were this crisis would not have arisen. We have never had a commitment to this dockyard from the Coalition parties. This can be read in the record. Murphy's Brewery in Cork was going to the wall but they got assistance and advice and now they are flourishing.
Deputy Wallace without interruption.
The Deputy never told the truth yet.
I am longer in politics than Deputy Allen. I am longer involved in the problems of Cork than he is. He need not take me on here tonight. I will give him the facts. The Government have a crucial decision to make. The sincerity of each and every one of us is on the line tonight. I ask the Government Deputies to convince the Minister to change his attitude. We have the skills, the personnel and the yard. The yard can be made viable. There is a future for shipbuilding and ship repairs if we have the goodwill of the Government. The region which is suffering so badly at the moment should not have to suffer further unemployment.
It is not the size of the dog but the size of the fight in the dog.
Since June of 1983 the people of Cobh and the workers in Verolme Cork Dockyard have been awaiting with fear and trepidation the day which has finally arrived. I live within a stone's throw of the dockyard. For the past 18 months I passed it nearly every day. Day after day more gantries become silent, more sheds become empty, and fewer workers travel to and from the dockyard. A cloud of doom has spread over the area.
The people of Cork east and the people of Cobh know who is responsible for this. They know it is not Fianna Fáil. They know the Government are responsible for what is happening, the closure of Verolme Cork Dockyard. From talking to people and listening to their problems, it is clear that it is not votes of sympathy they want. They cannot eat or burn votes of sympathy. They cannot dress themselves with votes of sympathy. They want work and they are not being given work. They are not being given any hope of getting work. Hope is being eroded in my area and the whole south east area. The Government will be remembered for that.
On 1 June 1983 when we had a motion on the dockyard it was quite clear that it was only a matter of time before the gate would be closed. I said then that there was not one shred of hope for the continuance of Verolme Cork Dockyard as a shipbuilding yard. Some people derided that remark, but I am afraid it was true. At the beginning of 1983 1,100 people were employed permanently in Verolme. There were also a couple of hundred temporary workers in the spin-off services. Those jobs have all gone. There are no immediate job prospects for those people.
A number of options were presented to the Government to allow the dockyard to continue trading. All those options were turned down by the Government. They did not deem it worthwhile to enter into direct negotiations or talks with the management to see if a practicable solution could be found. This happened again in the case of the Irish Shipping fiasco. I trust it will not happen in many other cases, but we have no guarantee of that. More and more we are having Government by Diktat. Democracy seems to have gone out the door for people who were considered to be the great white hopes at one time. That was a publicity stunt by the Government.
It amazes me that a business which is capable of paying all its creditors to the full can be closed down, a business owned to the extent of 48 per cent by the State. It is beyond comprehension why the Government would allow such a company to close down making thousands and thousands of people redundant. It would be wise of the Government to take complete control of the shipyard. In the near future it will be necessary to build new ships because our Irish shipping fleet has been sunk. We should ensure that they still have a dockyard and the facilities necessary to start building a new fleet. If they are given away within the next couple of months we will not have the facilities when we need them and it will cost us a great deal more to replace them.
Many operations were carried out within the dockyard. They did heavy engineering work. They provided goods for the ESB stations at Moneypoint and Aghada. They did work for the gasline. All that work has been lost to the area. The skills of many crafts were imparted to the young people. Those young people will be lost to the area. The facilities to train young people will also be lost.
A receiver has been appointed. I do not know whether that has been announced officially by the Minister but Deputy Allen notified the Cork Evening Echo of the appointment. Has any independent valuation been made of the dockyard? Can the receiver sell off the dockyard piecemeal or as one lot for whatever he considers to be enough to pay off Fóir Teoranta? The Government should ensure that the receiver will get full value for this asset if he sells it. It is of vital importance that the Government should take the bit between their teeth and secure this most valuable asset for the benefit of the nation. I urge all Deputies to vote in support of our motion tonight. I should like to give Deputy E. O'Keeffe some of my time.
I should like to thank my colleague for allowing me to speak for a short while about the disgraceful closure of one of the nation's finest industries. Cobh town is facing disaster with the closure of this fine plant, ending the opportunities for the use of the skills of the people of that area. Someone mentioned that we are in a new era. I wonder what is meant by that. This Government are running away from their responsibilities to maintain Irish industry. This is a very strong and viable industry if properly managed. Side by side with it there is Irish Steel which possibly is not very far from the hatchet being used by this Government. This will be known as the Government of liquidations and receiverships. Liquidation is the toughest but receivership is a more respectable way of doing the job.
This morning's newspapers mentioned a threatened increase in interest rates. At the same time, the Minister makes a statement that the Government are inviting people into this country to take over the dockyard as a ship repair and maintenance area. If the threatened rise of 2 per cent occurs in the interest rate, I do not think anyone will come here. This is being brought about by the total mismanagement of the economy of this island because of the domestic borrowings of the present Government with their projections for the year 1985.
We have seen the national plan, which I call the plan of codology and rubbish, prepared by Garret and Dick. It would have sold as a good Christmas annual, if they had done a good job.
The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, please, Deputy.
All it wants are a few good cartoons on each page and with a glossy cover it would be a very saleable commodity for Christmas. Deputy Allen has been talking about a slimmed down industry. Is he sincere about his own constituency of Cork? What will a slimmed down industry do for the workers there, or for their wives and families? He was apologising for the fact that the workers will lose their jobs. It is time they stopped talking about politicising. They were the greatest political people when in opposition. Fianna Fáil are the party of development who will develop this country and build it up again. We will build the Cork region and put it back on a sound footing. We are the only party who will give the people the incentive to develop and build, especially in the Cork region. For some unknown reason, this Government have continuously attacked that area — with courage I would say, because they have a number of Cork Deputies. I wonder what the fallout will be in the next general election, which may not be far away.
Irish Shipping were the pride of our nation, built in the forties to give us supplies and save us from a world crisis and they were successful. For some unknown reason, the Government now take the ground from under them. There were two Labour people who had the courage to speak out openly — Deputy Taylor, the Labour Chief Whip, and Senator Flor O'Mahony — who were prepared to meet the workers and try to salvage something for them. There are some people with some bit of heart left in that party. I hope that they will salvage Irish Shipping. This nation cannot survive without a shipping line. The decision to liquidate was taken for no reason.
Our financial institutions must be extremely worried at the behaviour of this Government and the way they can pull the rug from under State industry. For the international banking people from whom we borrow money and the countries with whom we trade, we have lost all credibility. That is very serious for a trading nation like ours. If we were not so palsy-walsy with NATO and had not Peter Barry running around——
The Minister for Foreign Affairs please, Deputy. Control yourself.
— the world and bending the knee to NATO we could sell another ship which had been built in Cork. We could sell one possibly in the Middle East or to the Libyans, with whom we are afraid to trade. Our sister Mrs. Thatcher, would sell more products to the Libyans than we would ever sell and is doing so and she is not raising any storm of indignation. This Government are disturbed because of their cowardly approach. They are prepared to sell out the people and the trades that we need. The Libyan deal is a vital one for us.
Are you talking about Verolme or Libya?
The goods must go in a ship. The Government influenced people not to trade with Libya because of the influence of Peter Barry with his friends in NATO.
The Minister, Deputy Barry.
The only proud thing that Fine Gael can do is to offer a Fine Gael Ard Fheis to Cork. Pairc Uí Chaoimh would be an ideal venue and it would be able to accommodate thousands of people. That is the one thing that Fine Gael could promise Cork in their term of office.
Deputy Coveney, to conclude at 8.15 p.m.
I am grateful to the Opposition for giving me a few minutes of their time. The impending cessation of shipbuilding at Verolme is certainly a serious setback for the Cork region. Of that there is no doubt. On the other hand, the state of world shipping has made the cessation of shipbuilding at Cork, as in many other parts of the world, especially Europe, virtually inevitable. The main causes certainly are external. However, it is well for us tonight, on this sad occasion, to dwell a little on some of the other causes. I would have to say that successive Governments of both persuasions have contributed to the closure, through a lack of any consistent, clear cut maritime policy and because of a series of broken promises. The record shows that both sides of the House stand indicted on these terms.
Not correct.
The record shows of two ferries in 1977, one was built for B & I and one for Irish Shipping.
A Deputy
We did not do as you are doing tonight.
Both sides are culpable.
It also has to be said that Verolme Dockyard have played a significant part in their own destruction. Poor industrial relations, management failures, restrictive practices, relatively low productivity and poor marketing have all contributed to the demise of this yard. These are unpalatable truths for all concerned — politicians, management and workers. I only raised these matters because I hope that we can learn something from them.
I do not think that all the picture is gloomy by any means. At the dockyard there are skills and facilities and standards of workmanship which are comparable with the best. Further development of those facilities in the years ahead come to mind. The market for ship repairing can be revived and tapped, provided the operation is streamlined and made cost-effective. As the Minister stated last evening, his Department have already received a serious inquiry about the establishment of a ship-repairing business in part of the yard. That has come about without any marketing effort whatsoever. I am very hopeful on that count. The general engineering capabilities there are unsurpassed in this country, quite outside shipping. They offer opportunities for development. There are a group of professional designers in that area who have established a computer-aided design system which can be developed, not only in this country but abroad.
The development of our offshore oil and gas resources will certainly offer opportunities in the future to utilise the facilities and skills, as well as the unique location and deep water of the dockyard.
If a good ship repair yard were established there, that could be developed again.
But there is one there and your Government are going to close it.
This is not an exhaustive list, but it conveys some idea of the range of opportunities for the utilisation of the resources of the dockyard. The only question to be answered and the only issue is how best to do that. We all know what we want to achieve: a viable business in that dockyard.
How many people?
The Government must take effective temporary control of the yard and endeavour to ensure that future developments there will maximise the opportunities for the creation of viable industries and jobs. This effective Government control can be exercised in various ways and the Minister is proposing to do so through the appointment by Fóir Teoranta of a State receiver. He has also provided £8 million for the payment of redundancy under the heading of a delivery incentive bonus for the P31.
Down payment would have been more sensible.
In addition he has provided funds for the payment of all trade creditors by Verolme. Without the provision of this very substantial and additional State funding Verolme could not meet those payments. It is nonsense to talk about Verolme being in a strong financial position in its own right. The reality is that the company without sustained, substantial injections of taxpayers' money is clearly insolvent.
That is not true. Who are the creditors? Who has been appointed as liquidator?
The appointment of a State receiver, provided his brief is clear cut and correct, can achieve the revitalisation which we all so earnestly desire. It is not the only way, but it has a good prospect of success. Furthermore if it does not succeed — success cannot be guaranteed and we should not say it can — the Minister will not have burnt his boats and other options will still be available to him.
He sank them last week.
In order for the receiver to have the best prospect of success his brief should incorporate the following instructions. First, to maintain the yard and equipment in good condition. I know there will be plenty of help and advice available to him from the workforce. I hope he will engage some of them in that operation. Second, he should establish an effective security system. It is not an easy place to do that. Thirdly, he should obtain comprehensive insurance cover. Fourthly, he should actively promote the sale, with the assistance of the IDA, to one or more companies which would offer the best prospects——
We have.
——of establishing viable enterprises utilising to the maximum extent available physical and human resources in the area. He should recover the preferential debts owing to the State, which is about £5 million, and complete the receivership within a specified time. If the receiver successfully meets his brief — I have no doubt he will — there is no doubt that the end result will fully justify the course of action proposed by the Minister.
I recently made a suggestion that the State might acquire the majority Dutch interest. I did that solely for the purpose of establishing a temporary holding company which would then find suitable purchasers to develop the assets. I am satisfied now that the appointment of a State receiver with the brief mentioned could effectively achieve the same result without the necessity to outlay money on acquiring the Dutch interest.
So the Deputy will not support our motion.
I will not. For all those reasons I am happy with the course of action being proposed by the Government and I commend it to the House.
A big change in two weeks after the heading in the newspaper.
On me has been conferred the dubious honour of bringing down the curtain on this tragic debate affecting so deeply employment in Cork. I listened with interest tonight to the most pitiful, pathetic and weakest approach I have ever heard from Government backbenchers trying to defend the inexplicable attitude of Ministers towards employment in Cork.
I want to give the lie to some insinuations made here, particularly by the last Deputy who spoke, whose U-turn in a matter of a few days is inexplicable. He is a man who is normally blessed with commonsense. His public comments about the purchase of the Dutch interest were so much in line with our motion that I expected him to vote with us. I am disappointed. Whoever wrote the speech for him knew there was a danger that if he wrote his own speech——
I wrote it myself.
——he might well join our side in voting. It is two years since we left office. I should say "thanks" to the Munster Fine Gael Deputy for the compliment he paid Deputies Mac-Sharry, Barrett and myself recently in a statement he made in Europe where he complimented us on negotiating, as members of a Government, the building of the Eithne, the last vessel to be launched a few days ago.
At this time last year 1,100 people were working in Verolme. Why did the Government not see fit to place an order with them during the last two years? I will tell the Government why, and particularly the Labour members. It is because Coalition Governments never had a commitment to Verolme. We know what their commitment has been. Séan Lemass rescued it and Sinéad Bean de Valera launched the first vessel. I say to the Labour Members to come into the lobbies and vote with us, otherwise we will hang it around their neck at platform after platform in Cork. They know as well as I do that there is no commitment to have jobs in the yard.
I was in an RTE studio with the Minister for Industry, Commerce, Trade and Tourism at the time of the Ford closure. He cooly said that the Government would not allow Fords to walk away from Cork. He said he and the Minister for Foreign Affairs would go to Detroit and tell Fords what to do. Months went by and the Ministers went to Detroit. Their message to Fords was very meek and mild. They allowed them to walk away from Cork.
We are being asked to vote for an amendment which includes the words: "do its utmost to ensure that a purchaser for the yard is found who will provide significant employment". That means nothing. It could be a bicycle repair shop. I say to Labour Members before they obliterate Labour support in the city and county of Cork to vote with us in the interests of jobs and employment.
It is gone in the county so watch the city.
That is a chance I will take.
In the European Parliament we were successful in having a motion accepted for urgent debate two weeks ago. That was some achievement when one thinks that it was taken in line with motions and problems such as the Chilean problem, the murder of the Polish priest and the famine in Ethiopia. Our motion was accepted as urgent, which indicates our commitment to have a debate there at the highest level. It may be asked why we wanted to have a debate there. Probably in 13 months Spain will join the EC. The Spanish fishing fleet is enormous, equal in size to the entire fleet of the EC. When they come in they will find it easier to get into Irish waters, whatever deal is negotiated, and we will watch very closely the deals this Government will be negotiating regarding our fishing grounds.
We need extra protection vessels and it would have made good comment for our Government to go to the EC and ask there for additional funding and place further orders with the VCD for two further fishery protection vessels. Let me say to Deputy Coveney, Deputy Allen, Deputy O'Sullivan and Deputy Desmond, who are so critical of the management and workers of their own in this House tonight——
A Deputy
That is not true.
——that I am surprised at their attitude; it is strange coming from Labour Party people. The Eithne, just launched, is probably the finest boat launched in the waters around this island. She is a beautiful, most modern ship and a tribute to the workforce engaged on her. She was built competitively, and the Minister should bear that in mind. It is so tragic that immediately after the launching of that ship and two years in Government the people opposite could not see their way to place one order to protect our fishing grounds and negotiate further EC assistance and funding, as was negotiated by Deputy Lenihan when he was Minister for Fisheries and Forestry. That can be done and we need that extra protection. Deputy Doyle said that, while he welcomed our support for two vessels, he would have preferred more.
Regarding the receiver, Deputy Allen seems more familiar with the situation than the Minister himself. Little information is forthcoming on what is happening in the Evening Echo of today's date. In that newspaper Deputy Allen tells us that a British firm are interested. That is more than the Minister told us last night. The Minister did not tell us who the receiver is. I presume we can take it that, like the appointments over the week-end, it is another old pal. His name probably will be in The Cork Examiner in the morning. Who are the British ship repair yards that are not in trouble? Many of them have made their workers redundant. I ask Deputy Allen to tell us in The Cork Examiner in the morning who is that British firm. Have they already laid off workers? Are the Labour Party Members, who will be trooping in behind the Minister tonight, voting to support the purchase of that yard by a firm who have already laid off workers? That is very probable.
I want to return to commitments and promises that were made. I refer to the debacle that was Fords and the promises made then by this Minister. The embarrassment created then for many of the Members opposite will be increased all the more by this. The Taoiseach was going to Cork in the week that Fords closed to address the Chamber of Commerce there and his handlers felt that something should be done to protect his image and to protect him for the week-end in Cork. We saw the ballyhoo of a task force being appointed to tell us about a programme of jobs to recover the employment situation in Cork. That task force met and they reported in May, yet no Member on this side of the House has received a copy of the report. Why? What is being concealed, what is concealed in that report? Does that report tell us that the closure of VCD was imminent? Is that why the report was not shown to us? What value was in that report for Cork? We are entitled to know. This Government last week appointed a liquidator to Irish Shipping and this week appointed a receiver to VCD. When will they appoint a national liquidator or receiver? Perhaps they will single out the Cork region for such an appointment.
I do not disagree about the necessity for a smaller operation. I presume that it would not have been possible to continue with the 1,100 workers of a year ago, but think of the skills and the crafts that exist there, the traditions attached to the place. Cork harbour has enjoyed the shipbuilding tradition down the years. The towns of Cobh, Rushbroke, Passage West, Glenbrook and Monkstown have depended heavily on employment at VCD. This closure reflects on itself and also in the spin-off in the service industries and the shops which will not be felt immediately next month but certainly in a few months it will be felt.
I call to Members opposite, in order to ensure that the Minister is not going to catch them again tonight, to vote with us and show at least that they have some even belated commitment to employment on the Cork scene before it has been ravaged completely by the present administration. It is a tragedy that, despite requests, no visit was made to the yard by a Government Minister. The Cork Deputies appear to have failed to organise a meeting with management and workers and it all seemed to be a question of remote control with little interest shown by the Department.
A Deputy
They did not even go the launching of the P.32.
We know they were ashamed but while they were able to launch it without them at least a meeting on the ground should have been arranged. I have no doubt that the expertise and skills there would have impressed this Government to the extent that they would have said that we must do something, that we could save the yard.
We must accept that the world shipping is going through a difficult period. Despite that, Harland and Wolfe recently had to turn away an order simply because they could not deliver in time. We all know how shipping is protected in eastern countries. Our shipbuilding facility is so small by world standards that this Government have lost a golden opportunity. They sat by for two years, allowed nothing to happen, placed no order, gave no assistance. Now the yard closes and we are told that a ship repairing firm are interested and will be pursued by the receiver. Is a ship repairing firm a substitute or an answer for a yard with such expertise and equipment? It is not. It is an insult to the skills that exist there.
Our party leader on a recent visit was impressed, and he was received there as the only person who has shown an interest in that yard in the two years that we have been out of Government. That is an indictment of the Ministers opposite, and the Deputies failed to get them to meet before the closure took place. The name of a receiver is to be announced, I presume tomorrow or the next day. Why was his name not announced here in the House today or last night? Is there something to be covered up, to be concealed or is he another old pal? Probably he is. If the yard closes we will be watching his actions. I have no doubt that old pals are watching also and we are losing the independence of the shipbuilding industry and of a skilled repair yard, at least for the time being. We are bowing again to the British. That flight home in that RAF jet by our Taoiseach was the most expensive flight this country has ever had. I say to the once proud Labour Party and to the Members opposite who at one stage were interested in employment and jobs: "For goodness sake, do not be misled by the glib formula of words prepared by the then Minister for Industry and Energy".
Order.
The Minister says that he will do his utmost to ensure that a purchaser for the yard is found who will provide significant employment. What happens if he is not found? Where are the jobs? I ask the Members opposite for goodness sake to vote with us tonight. We know our case is right. We believe that the EC can and will help. Our fisheries need protection. We need the employment of the vessels. It can be done if there is an interest and commitment by Government. Without the commitment our future in the yard and in Cork is poor indeed.
Tá
- Allen, Bernard.
- Barnes, Monica.
- Barrett, Seán.
- Barry, Myra.
- Begley, Michael.
- Bermingham, Joe.
- Birmingham, George Martin.
- Boland, John.
- Bruton, Richard.
- Burke, Liam.
- Carey, Donal.
- Conlon, John F.
- Connaughton, Paul.
- Coogan, Fintan.
- Cooney, Patrick Mark.
- Cosgrave, Liam T.
- Cosgrave, Michael Joe.
- Coveney, Hugh.
- Creed, Donal.
- Crotty, Kieran.
- Crowley, Frank.
- D'Arcy, Michael.
- Desmond, Barry.
- Desmond, Eileen.
- Donnellan, John.
- Dowling, Dick.
- Doyle, Avril.
- Doyle, Joe.
- Dukes, Alan.
- Durkan, Bernard J.
- Farrelly, John V.
- Fennell, Nuala.
- FitzGerald, Garret.
- Flaherty, Mary.
- Flanagan, Oliver J.
- Glenn, Alice.
- Griffin, Brendan.
- Harte, Patrick D.
- Hegarty, Paddy.
- Keating, Michael.
- Kenny, Enda.
- L'Estrange, Gerry.
- McGahon, Brendan.
- McGinley, Dinny.
- McLoughlin, Frank.
- Manning, Maurice.
- Mitchell, Gay.
- Mitchell, Jim.
- Molony, David.
- Moynihan, Michael.
- Naughten, Liam.
- Nealon, Ted.
- Noonan, Michael. (Limerick East)
- O'Brien, Willie.
- O'Leary, Michael.
- O'Sullivan, Toddy.
- O'Toole, Paddy.
- Owen, Nora.
- Pattison, Séamus.
- Prendergast, Frank.
- Quinn, Ruairí.
- Ryan, John.
- Shatter, Alan.
- Sheehan, Patrick Joseph.
- Skelly, Liam.
- Taylor, Mervyn.
- Taylor-Quinn, Madeline.
- Timmins, Godfrey.
- Treacy, Seán.
- Yates, Ivan.
Níl
- Ahern, Bertie.
- Ahern, Michael.
- Andrews, David.
- Aylward, Liam.
- Barrett, Michael.
- Blaney, Neil Terence.
- Brady, Vincent.
- Brennan, Paudge.
- Brennan, Séamus.
- Briscoe, Ben.
- Burke, Raphael P.
- Byrne, Hugh.
- Byrne, Seán.
- Calleary, Seán.
- Collins, Gerard.
- Conaghan, Hugh.
- Connolly, Ger.
- Coughlan, Cathal Seán.
- Daly, Brendan.
- De Rossa, Proinsias.
- Doherty, Seán.
- Fahey, Francis.
- Faulkner, Pádraig.
- Fitzgerald, Gene.
- Fitzgerald, Liam Joseph.
- Foley, Denis.
- O'Rourke, Mary.
- Power, Paddy.
- Reynolds, Albert.
- Treacy, Noel.
- Tunney, Jim.
- Wallace, Dan.
- Gallagher, Denis.
- Gallagher, Pat Cope.
- Geoghegan-Quinn, Máire.
- Harney, Mary.
- Haughey, Charles J.
- Hilliard, Colm.
- Hyland, Liam.
- Kitt, Michael.
- Lenihan, Brian.
- Leonard, Jimmy.
- Leonard, Tom.
- Leyden, Terry.
- Lyons, Denis.
- McCarthy, Seán.
- McCreevy, Charlie.
- McEllistrim, Tom.
- Mac Giolla, Tomás.
- Morley, P. J.
- Moynihan, Donal.
- Nolan, M. J.
- O'Dea, William.
- O'Hanlon, Rory.
- O'Keeffe, Edmond.
- O'Kennedy, Michael.
- O'Leary, John.
- Ormonde, Donal.
- Walsh, Joe.
- Walsh, Seán.
- Wilson, John P.
- Woods, Michael.
- Wyse, Pearse.